# Challenge! Who is the man sitting with all the stars on Johnny Carson? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2014, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321 "2014-04-30T00:42:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 30
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/581 "2014-05-07T07:09:02Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I considered that. Hair, chin, eyes are off. I think Hef looked younger than that in 1970. That picture is only a few years off (1976, maybe?). Here’s one closer to 1970: [![](http://gossip.whyfame.com/files/2012/01/hugh_hefner_james_franco.jpg) ](http://gossip.whyfame.com/files/2012/01/hugh_hefner_james_franco.jpg) (He’s the guy on the left. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/582 "2014-05-07T12:35:46Z")
I can’t get the link to work. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/583 "2014-05-07T16:08:57Z")
Damn. I have been away for five days and fully expected this mystery would have been solved by the time I returned. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/584 "2014-05-07T16:14:11Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Damn. I have been away for five days and fully expected this mystery would have been solved by the time I returned. We did solve it, we’re just keeping it from you.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/585 "2014-05-07T16:36:50Z")
It’s [Robert Evans](https://s-media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/ac/16/a2/ac16a2399f50356b3f8c39b449f5f868.jpg) Edit: I actually don’t know, but thought it could be some random producer we aren’t familiar with. He does have a passing resemblance to Robert. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby\_Slippers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/94ad74/32.png) [@Ruby\_Slippers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby_Slippers)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/586 "2014-05-07T17:07:12Z")
Maybe Rod Taylor? [https://www.pinterest.com/pin/556264991445654934/](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/556264991445654934/) I didn’t find any connection to the Golden Globes or the others in the picture, but that was the first name that came to my mind when I looked at the picture. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/587 "2014-05-07T17:30:27Z")
OK after reading this entire thread and noting all the guesses that LOOK NOTHING like the MM in the OP picture, I have determined that either: A) There is an inside joke I am on the outside of to make me think that I have failing eyesight and the poorest facial recognition of any human B) I really do have failing eyesight and the poorest facial recognition of any human C) Some of the posters here have seriously failing eyesight and the poorest facial recognition of any human Seriously… - Dick Cavett - huh? - Sid Caesar - not even remotely close - Alec Guiness - the force is not with you… Han Solo agrees - Hans Conried - Now were just throwing darts - David Frost - This is a joke right? - Jay Sandrich - not unless you think MM looks like Ned Flanders And my personal favorite… Jack Klugman - What.The.Fuck. But this thread is good times 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/588 "2014-05-07T17:40:25Z")
See the thing is, if you look at the pic log enough and then look at some of the WTF guesses, (including my own Robert Evans) the brain starts making the pics look alike. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/589 "2014-05-07T18:00:10Z")
> [@chargerrich](#): > > And my personal favorite… Jack Klugman - What.The.Fuck. I prefer George C. Scott, early in the thread, for greatest jawdroppingness. > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > See the thing is, if you look at the pic log enough and then look at some of the WTF guesses, (including my own Robert Evans) the brain starts making the pics look alike. Yours might, mine seems to do the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/590 "2014-05-07T18:05:35Z")
> [@chargerrich](#): > > OK after reading this entire thread and noting all the guesses that LOOK NOTHING like the MM in the OP picture, I have determined that either: > A) There is an inside joke I am on the outside of to make me think that I have failing eyesight and the poorest facial recognition of any human > > B) I really do have failing eyesight and the poorest facial recognition of any human > > C) Some of the posters here have seriously failing eyesight and the poorest facial recognition of any human > > Seriously… > > - Dick Cavett - huh? > - Sid Caesar - not even remotely close > - Alec Guiness - the force is not with you… Han Solo agrees > - Hans Conried - Now were just throwing darts > - David Frost - This is a joke right? > - Jay Sandrich - not unless you think MM looks like Ned Flanders > > And my personal favorite… Jack Klugman - What.The.Fuck. > > But this thread is good times 😃 Give me a break with the Jack Klugman thing, okay? I was looking at the photo on the small screen of my cell phone and I was spitballing. Sheesh! Ya make one dumb guess and it haunts ya for days! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/591 "2014-05-07T18:16:59Z")
This is a Friars Club roast from 1968. Lots of left profiles. Also notice the dimples. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32CLNdo_zs4) ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/592 "2014-05-07T19:01:44Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I prefer George C. Scott, early in the thread, for greatest jawdroppingness. > > Yours might, mine seems to do the opposite. Upon reading the names, mine goes “Whattttt?” but then I’ll look up an old picture, and my brain goes, “Grainy white guy, grainy white guy. Same guy, right?” I’m going to vote for, “Unknown producer of awards show or magazine” or…“Doc Severinson upon losing a bet and having no facial hair” There are some photoplay awards footage on youtube, maybe I can spot a producer or something. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/593 "2014-05-07T19:55:55Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > I’m going to vote for, “Unknown producer of awards show or magazine” That has my vote. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/594 "2014-05-07T20:21:11Z")
Dan Cooper aka D.B. Cooper. He’s not listed anywhere because he just “dropped in”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/595 "2014-05-07T20:22:59Z")
> [@Ruby\_Slippers](#): > > Maybe Rod Taylor? [https://www.pinterest.com/pin/556264991445654934/](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/556264991445654934/) I didn’t find any connection to the Golden Globes or the others in the picture, but that was the first name that came to my mind when I looked at the picture. I was looking seriously at Rod Taylor the other day, and noted these previous mentions of him in this thread: #29 – Auntie Pam: My first thought was Rod Taylor because of the hair, but I don’t think it’s him either – the mouth isn’t right. #159 – Starving Artist: Hmm…seeing it magnified like that, I’m beginning to gravitate toward Rod Taylor, caught at an unusual angle or morphing between expressions. #208 --Ethilrist: And a profile, showing the shape of his nose and chin… (Links to photos are in those posts.) In 1970, Taylor had starred as Travis McGee in “Darker Than Amber.” A couple of shots from that: [http://www.benitomovieposter.com/catalog/images/movieposter/mas-oscuro-que-el-ambar-img-131786.jpg](http://www.benitomovieposter.com/catalog/images/movieposter/mas-oscuro-que-el-ambar-img-131786.jpg) [![](http://www.rodtaylorsite.com/images/amber2.jpg) ](http://www.rodtaylorsite.com/images/amber2.jpg) The film doesn’t seem to have generated any awards nominations, but this does show Taylor’s appearance during what we assume to be the target time period. I’m not completely sold on this being Taylor, I might say; something seems “off” about the identification. Mystery Man’s face seems…longer and jowlier, somehow. But Taylor does match up in some respects, at least. > [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > See the thing is, if you look at the pic log enough and then look at some of the WTF guesses, (including my own Robert Evans) the brain starts making the pics look alike. So true. So horribly true! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/596 "2014-05-07T21:10:21Z")
I’m looking for a profile of Rod Taylor, and I can’t find a good one, but some of the other picture do show that his ears stick out on the bottom in the same way that MM’s do. What’s Taylor’s connection to the group? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/597 "2014-05-07T22:22:40Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > What’s Taylor’s connection to the group? The connections among the people we _can_ ID aren’t necessarily crystal clear. The speculations have so far centered on the Emmy Awards, the Golden Globes, and an alleged ceremony for 1970 Photoplay Awards–the last being the least-well documented. (So far no one has posted anything that indicates that there even _was_ a ceremony.) Taylor doesn’t appear in lists for Emmy or Golden Globes of 1970 and the years around it (and of course there IS no list for the alleged “1970 Photoplay Awards”). EMMY AWARDS: Three of the eight for which we have names had been winners at the 22nd Primetime Emmy Awards, handed out on 7 June 1970: [ul] [li]Robert Young (Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series)[/li][li]Karen Valentine (Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy)[/li][li]James Brolin (Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama)[/li][/ul] Marlo Thomas and Carol Burnett had been nominees at the same awards. Danny Thomas, Glen Campbell, and Ed McMahon hadn’t been nominated, but Danny Thomas had been one of the two co-hosts. So that’s six of the eight with a definite “22nd Primetime Emmys” connection. (Ed would be explained by the use of the Burbank Tonight Show set, of course. So it’s only Glen and MM who aren’t explained by this theory–and the fact that Glen is the only one not in formal wear might indicate that he was only there as part of the Awards Photo Op by accident.) GOLDEN GLOBES: Wikipedia links to a New York Post article that claims that a beef had kept the Golden Globe ceremony from being telecast on NBC between 1968 and 1974. The link is broken and a search of the article title brings no hits. So we can’t assume that this is true, absent additional sourcing. (This page does refer to a ban, but provides no sourcing: [Zany Hosts, Scandalous Noms and Other Fun Tidbits About the Golden Globes – NBC Bay Area](http://www.nbcbayarea.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/Globes-facts-and-figures-182606071.html) ) But if it IS true, that makes it less likely that a photo commemorating the Globes winners would have been taken on either of the Tonight Show sets, given that the Tonight Show was very much an NBC property. In any case: the awards have given in February or January of each year. If the photo truly was taken in November (and evidence for that is shaky), then this timing seems wrong. (Nominations are announced in December.) At the 27th awards (February 2, 1970), the only winner in our group: Carol Burnett. At the 28th awards (February 5, 1971), the only winners in our group of eight-identified: James Brolin and “The Carol Burnett Show” (but not Carol herself). “PHOTOPLAY AWARDS”: This is the option that some in the thread are pushing most strenously, and it’s the option with the least supportive evidence. All we have are some images from Google News Newspaper Archive (and the like) of small-town or otherwise relatively obscure publications, that purport to show television listings for the night of November 11, 1970. (Which is Veterans Day in the USA, by the way.) The eight identified people are listed as appearing on the Tonight Show. I continue to find this…_conveniently_ specific, considering that we completely lack these things: [ul] [li]Television listings like those in the obscure papers, but in papers-of-record[/li][li]Any proof that a Photoplay Awards ceremony took place either in 1970 or for 1970[/li][li]Any actual list of the winners of alleged 1970 Photoplay awards[/li][li]Any second photo of this group of fairly well-known entertainers[/li][li]Any reference to this group assembling on the Tonight Show set in the copious materials generated by Tonight Show historians, archivists, or fans[/li][/ul] When these points have been brought up previously in this thread, the response has often been along the lines of “well, things were _different_ back then”…as if interest in television stars (and interest in the Carson-era Tonight Show) was simply absent “in those days”–and that’s why there is so little record of this alleged photo session and the event it purportedly commemorates. Many who read and/or post on this site can attest to the reality that 1970 and the years around it do NOT constitute a far-off, ancient, bygone era in which human interests and motivations were unimaginably different. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/598 "2014-05-07T23:06:00Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I’m looking for a profile of Rod Taylor, and I can’t find a good one, but some of the other picture do show that his ears stick out on the bottom in the same way that MM’s do. > > What’s Taylor’s connection to the group? I’m one of those old people who has seen Rod Taylor many times on TV (also he was in a film of [_The Time Machine_](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001792/mediaindex?ref_=nm_phs_md_sm), which I just rewatched recently), and it’s not him. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/599 "2014-05-08T00:45:28Z")
Oh, [Walloon](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=127473), we could sure use your help.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/600 "2014-05-08T00:59:07Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I continue to find this…_conveniently_ specific, considering that we completely lack these things: > > [ul] > [li]Television listings like those in the obscure papers, but in papers-of-record[/li][li]Any proof that a Photoplay Awards ceremony took place either in 1970 or for 1970[/li][li]Any actual list of the winners of **alleged 1970 Photoplay awards** [/li][li]Any second photo of this group of fairly well-known entertainers[/li][li]Any reference to this group assembling on the Tonight Show set in the copious materials generated by Tonight Show historians, archivists, or fans[/li][/ul] Just to be clear, we do know that there were 1970 Photoplay Awards. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321.md?page=31)